New Delhi: The ministry of environment and forests is likely to decide Wednesday, on continuing its opposition to the stalled Lavasa Hill City project.

Ministry officials who didn’t want to be identified said that they had received responses from the Lavasa Corporation and that the issue would likely be decided by the courts, beginning with a hearing by the Bombay High Court on Thursday the 16th.

Construction at the project site in Pune has stopped since Nov 25th, ever since the MoEF sent a showcause notice to Lavasa Corporation, saying that the company had not sought required environmental clearances while constructing the hill city which is expected to cover 12,500 acres. Bombay High Court had on 7 December stayed the status quo notice from the environment ministry to the Lavasa Corporation, and asked the ministry to hear out Lavasa before the 16th of the month.